The last of the baby blankets for a little while at least! This one was fun; the mom-to-be requested pink and ombre. Since I wasn’t going to knit and then dye it myself, this was the compromise I came up with. I really hope she likes it!

Instead of my go-to Brava Bulky; I went with the worsted weight on this blanket. I used the worsted weight yarn, double-stranded to give the same bulky weight as before but also so I could visually blend the two colors together. I used two strands of the rose color, then transitioned to one strand of rose with one strand of plum (Fairy Tale) and finally two strands of plum to finish it off.

It’s probably the largest baby blanket I have completed to date. I’m happy with the color progression and am thinking about doing more like this, in different colors but the same blending technique.

It’s just a simple garter stitch which means it’s super squishy and very stretchy. It’s dang cozy!

This pretty blanket is destined for another Blizzard baby who hasn’t joined us just yet but I am looking forward to meeting her!

Another baby blanket! The more stripes the merrier. I just winged it on the pattern for this one and made it up as I went along.

Knitpicks Brava Bulky strikes again! I ordered the dark blue and the turquoise yarn first and wanted to make a striped blanket out of those two colors but discovered a few inches in that I wouldn’t have enough yarn. I went to order more of the dark blue but it was out of stock for months! I gave up on my original idea and incorporated white to help make up the yardage.

I decided to do skinny stripes and carry the secondary color up the sides to avoid weaving in a billion ends. Finishing is usually the downside of any project, weaving in all the ends can be tedious so the less of that, the better.

For the darker stripe, I switched yarn on the wrong side to add extra stripes formed by the blips and then switched back to the right side for the turquoise so all the blips would be on the back again.

This little dude is headed for a darling Blizzard baby. She’s a tiny peach!

I love this blanket! This is the second one I’ve made from the Purl Bee pattern and I’m kind of in love (here’s the first one).

I used KnitPicks Brava Bulky again; I kind of think it’s perfect for baby goods. It’s machine washable and pretty soft. It doesn’t hurt that it’s bulky and knits up superfast!

Glamour shot! In the amazing office of Hoodzpah Art + Graphics. I can’t wait for a real action shot of my new nephew with the blanket!

I went with skinnier stripes in this version and added some black for more contrast. Also into the large chunk of white for the last third of the blanket; kind of makes the darker, more somber colors feel lighter in a way.

Chevron is sort of everywhere but that won’t stop me from loving it!

The thing about flat knitting is that there is a right side and a “wrong” side. The wrong side refers to the backside or the inside of a knitted piece. It’s the side that isn’t usually seen and usually hides all the blips (those little extra white stitches that form a very slender row of white). But, I rather like the blips. It’s like a bonus stripe. The more stripes the better, really.

I made this for my darling friend, Zac’s birthday. He loves the book The Last Unicorn and I wanted to do something that related to that. Another friend of mine had loaned me the DVD of the animated children’s movie of the same title. Which I may or may not have watched while creating this. I also might have a few others started, hence “the first”. There might be a few more unicorn silhouettes popping up in the near future.

MAKER NOTES: I referenced the dvd cover for the general unicorn style and created a modified silhouette from it on parchment paper (hot damn, I love Bienfang; a design professor got me hooked in college). I then used my portable light table to transfer the final silhouette (there were a few drafts) from the parchment paper to the watercolor paper. I used masking tape to affix the watercolor paper to a large drawing board to keep the paper from warping from the moisture. Anything flat and sturdy will work; I’ve used clipboards, random pieces of wood or cardboard….pretty much anything I could get my hands on. My masking tape didn’t seal perfectly as illustrated by the small bits of feathering around the edge. I painted white acrylic for just the silhouette and then lined with a pen/nib/ink & filled in the background with the same ink but with a small nylon brush for a smoother (& less tedious) fill.

The pink sparkle eyelet cowl & my awesome mirror portraiture. Scott was totally aware and very happy to be part of this composition. I made this cowl for a friend over the summer. Something light and adorable that I knew she would love & be able to use here in the balmy temperatures of Orange County.

The Vogue Stitchionary books are really quite amazing. I have Volumes 1, 2 3 & 5 currently. Hoping for the 4th even though it’s crochet (which is still very much a mystery to me, other than the chain stitch). I love going through these volumes and picking out a pattern that catches my fancy. I’m not much of a lace knitter, personally. I get frustrated with the tiny needles and tiny yarn and usually end up in weird knots but I picked out a super easy 4-row repeat pattern for this cowl— 7 Polka Dots— and went to work.

ERMERGERD. This yarn! I love it! So! Much! Gorgeous yarn from Sun Valley Fibers. I admit that it fought me when I was winding it from skein form to a workable ball but in the end I triumphed. This yarn really grabs itself (which is what made it difficult to wind) but turned into total loveliness with this particular pattern, especially after blocking.

I have a few more skeins of this yarn in a few different colorways. I am pretty excited to whip up some more delicate little cowls.

I cannot wait to welcome into the world my friend’s child in February! I have been eying this chevron baby blanket pattern from the Purl Bee for awhile. It looked a little daunting just because of the amount of counting involved.

I am the sort of knitter that prefers to go on autopilot and just cruise through the stitches while watching some form of horrible televisions, reading a book on my kindle or videochatting with my bff. The focused attention I knew this pattern was going to need put me off from attempting it for a bit but honestly, once I got going, it was easier than I anticipated. I definitely couldn’t read or hold a conversation but catching up on a season of Law & Order was totally doable.

I couldn’t quite splurge for the recommended yarn (the incredibly lovely Blue Sky Cotton) so I went with KnitPicks Brava in Bulky (& did not double it up as the pattern calls for) in Dove Heather & White. Far more economical and still equally machine-washable for babytimes. I’m not really keen on acrylic but Brava has been ruling my world lately. The blanket turned out to be a surprisingly quick knit and I am very pleased with the end results. I’ve already started a second one for another expecting friend and am contemplating making a queen size version for my own bed!

I need to stop hoarding photos! From a visit this spring to the Patchwork Indie Arts & Craft Festival in Santa Ana with the fabulous Jen Hood…

I’m looking forward to the fall one in November!

These are kind of addictive! They’re really easy to make, finish up quickly and have endless possibilities. I’m currently rockin’ Sleepy Cat on all my morning beverages.

Something I’ve struggled with since moving here to sunny Southern California from my beloved windy city is weather-appropriate garb. Coming from Chicago, I am addicted to lots and lots of layering. But holy moly, I overheat easily so this weather has been throwing me for a loop. Figuring out the right fabrics and balancing the garments breath is a pretty high priority for me. I miss my knitted items! Most of the things I’ve knit for myself over the years are of the toasty warm, squishy, cozy genre. I’ve been daydreaming of something I could layer with and still be comfortable temperature-wise.

I think I’ve figured it out finally! This version is a gift for a friend who is also a recent transplant to this warm climate who I thought might be missing these layering pieces just as much as me. This is done in that lovely MadelineTosh Merino light that I just bought a few weeks ago (I was excited to use it!) from the Purl Soho warehouse in Tustin. The fabric turned out nicely airy but not fluffy; it still has enough weight to give a good drape to the finished fabric. I have to knit one for myself now— thinking maybe some sort of coral color, something peppy & springy.

*my husband loves to try to get me to laugh when my automatic timer is counting down. sometimes he succeeds. Today is our third wedding anniversary. We are such lucky, lucky assholes. <3

Hee— this probably looks kind of familiar, huh? I was just playing around with some felt and embroidery— I should probably youtube some tutorials and learn how to do this properly but for now, this was a fun experiment.

Doodling with craft supplies? Anyone else been doodling lately?